


from ashes we rise

by byeolbit



Series: Phoenix [1]
Category: VIXX
Genre: Drug Abuse, Gen, PTSD, mentions of sexual harrassment, other mental illnesses mentioned, post war dystopia, this is just part one
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-22
Updated: 2018-07-22
Packaged: 2019-06-14 11:19:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,869
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15387645
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/byeolbit/pseuds/byeolbit
Summary: Cha Hakyeon is the leader of Excelsis Unit, the decorated war hero who saved the world from destruction in the Great War five years ago. The world believes that the entire Excelsis Unit was declared dead in the final battle. And then there are those who wish to make this a reality.





	from ashes we rise

**Author's Note:**

> Please not the trigger warnings in the tags before reading!
> 
> Written for Fantasia Fic Bingo challenge on tumblr. Cross posted from my account.

  
  


“Looking fine as ever Doc” the guard whistled as you walked down the hallways. You paid him no attention as you continued walking. The catcalls were normal at the facility, given the lack of women. Well, the lack of sane woman that weren’t behind bars.

Years of experience in the units at the front line of the war, had conditioned you to ignore the harassment. Besides, today was important. 

You arrived at the office and knocked, waiting for an affirmative before walking in. The secretary took a moment to look up and you smiled at him. It was well known that he had the hots for you and encouraging him was a bad idea, but antagonising him would be worse. So you didn’t say much, hoping your presence would speak for itself. You had an appointment after all.

“He’s waiting for you” the secretary said, tilting his head to the Commander’s office.You nodded, sliding into his office with a trained fluidity.

“Commander Song” you said, bowing your head in respect. 

“Dr Y/L/N” he acknowledged. He shut his file and stood up to greet you with a handshake. It was a firm strong hold, showing that his age had not gotten the best of his physical strength.

“I have to thank you for taking this case on such a short notice. You are the best we have and at this point we are desperate” Commander Song started.

“As a part of the Special Task Force unit, it’s my duty to do so Commander” you said, standing in complete attention.

“This isn’t your run of the mill PTSD case. Why don’t you take a seat and I’ll fill you in on what isn’t present on the documents” Commander Song said. He locked the door and pressed buttons on the wall. The lights dimmed and the projection screen rolled down. 

“You must have noticed how all the personally identifiable information about the patient was screened out” he started. You nodded. It was the norm while referring cases within military divisions.  
“Including some stats about his physical health” Commander Song added.

“Yes. I did raise an access request for that because I think that information is vital for a complete diagnosis” you recounted. 

“You did. I believe that you signed a non disclosure agreement with us when you formally took on this case as well” he said, staring right at you.

“I did. I have attested copies of the same” you said. Something felt very off and you had known it the moment you had read through the agreement. It was stricter than the standard forms with heavier penalties for breach of contract. Maybe taking on this case had not been the wisest thing to do. but you were already here.

“Good. Keep this agreement to heart because this case is confidential. I am talking Level 5 which is beyond need to know basis, Dr Y/L/N” he said pointedly. 

“I am aware of the protocols surrounding this case Sir” you replied. You knew this scare/intimidate tactic. But you were a doctor bound by your oaths and had no need for theatrics to impress upon the importance of confidentiality in the special forces division.

“Right. Without further ado. Meet your patient, Dr Y/L/N” Commander Song, said starting the tape. It was a man with a lithe build, bound in a white bodysuit, watching Newton’s Cradle swing. His face was hidden behind a mop of curly black hair. You didn’t need to see his face to recognise the dog tag sequence that was printed on the shoulder of his body suit.

_EXU_

Excelsis Unit.

Fuck, you were dealing with the mutants directly. The man looked up at the camera, as if locking eyes with you through the lens.

“Our most decorated war hero till date - Cha Hakyeon.” 

“That’s impossible. Cha Hakyeon was declared dead at the end of the war. All of the EXU unit was” you recounted. Commander Song made no reply, having anticipated this question.

“You are telling me that Cha Hakyeon has been locked up in Rose Heights all this while?” you asked, turning to face Commander Song.

“The entire Excelsis Unit has been kept here for treatment because we have very limited infrastructure to deal with mutants in South Korea. It was decided not to ship them off to NYC because familiar territory would be best suited for their needs” Commander Song told you.

“The entire Excelsis Unit is present within the facility. Are there more doctors working on similar cases that I can consult with for professional opinion?” you deduced.

“That is on a strict need to know basis Dr Y/N. All I will tell you is that your patient is Cha Hakyeon. The access to his physical health information is still restricted and will be confirmed as accepted or declined only after we go through a mental health analysis and determine how relevant it is to disclose said information” Commander Song told her.

“And how would that be determined Sir?” you asked, keeping the mistrust in your voice carefully sealed. 

“We have our ways” he said, his tone implying that he wouldn’t take a challenge to his authority.

“It’s been five years since the war was over. Were there other doctors? What was their prognosis?” you asked. You knew you wouldn’t get access to medical records. Cha Hakyeon was a high profile patient. Your best bet was whatever Commander Song was willing to tell you. 

“I need a baseline for an effective diagnosis Commander” you pleaded. Commander Song gave you a look, calculating what could be told and what couldn’t.

“We were sure it was PTSD. The kind of things that Excelsis Unit saw and did would have taken lesser men down. There were moments of emotional detachment. Triggers that were carefully avoided. It took us about a year to assemble the unit in one location carefully” Commander Song reminisced. 

“The doctors before you reported symptoms very similar to dementia, but none were willing to classify it positively without further investigation. But as luck would have it, they couldn’t handle the cases and quit within months of taking it up” he concluded. 

You frowned. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder was to be expected. No one escaped the war with a clean chit of mental health. But Dementia? No wonder the doctors weren’t willing to classify it so easily. There were multiple illnesses with similar symptoms. 

In either case, Cha Hakyeon’s case was interesting. So why had everyone quit within months of beginning diagnosis?

“That is all I can share with you” Commander Song said. He stopped the projector and turned on the lights. You stood up, smoothing out your skirt.

“Thank you for this Commander” you said with a formal bow. 

“I hope you understand how important this is to us doctor. Cha Hakyeon is a good man” Commander Song said. 

“I will do my best Commander” you assured him. He nodded and you excused yourself. Your first session with your patient was tomorrow morning and you had to be prepared before it.

“You were in there for a while, doctor” the secretary said idly.

“You know how these things take time” you said, with a shrug of your shoulders. You almost walked out, before doubling back.

“I never caught your name you know” you said, pushing your hair behind your ear and leaning over his desk.

“Im Yunho” the secretary said. His pupils dilated and you smirked at the sight of barely concealed sexual interest. 

“I guess I’ll see you at dinner, Yunho” you said with a flirty smile. You left, secure in the knowledge that Yunho would seek you out after dinner. 

You felt no qualms about using him for your own gains. Something was not right about this case and you needed to see those files before you went in to actually meet him.

-x-

“Doctor Y/L/N” Yunho started. He had been looking for you all over the canteen during dinner time and had felt disappointed when he didn’t find you. He hadn’t expected you to be here, waiting for him near his room at the Commander’s quarters.

“Oh Yunho! I was held up by the staff during dinner and I came to see you because I felt so guilty about not meeting you like I said I would” you said, faking distress. 

“Uh.. It’s alright really. You didn’t have to come all the way for just that” Yunho said. You shook your head, leaning against the door in a way to flatter your curves. You could tell that he appreciated it from the way his eyes raked over your body.

“I’ve had such a horrible day. I was looking forward to your company” you said, pouting slightly and biting your lips for extra effect. “But of course, it is very late. I couldn’t keep you” you said, pulling away and walking ahead. You brushed against him intentionally moving slowly to give him time to catch up.

“Wait! Doctor!” Yunho said, managing to catch hold of your hand by your fingers.

“It would be a shame to turn a wonderful woman like you away. Why don’t you come inside for a drink? It’s the least I can offer you” he said, holding onto your fingers. 

“Sure. And call me Y/N. Just Y/N” you said with a smile. You played with his fingers, hinting heavily at your ‘true motives’. Given how quick his heartbeat was and how goosebumps were rising on his skin, you could tell that you wouldn’t have to keep the charade up for long.

-x-

“Sorry Yunho. It’s not personal” you muttered under your breath as you held his finger to the scanner on the tab. 

The night had played out like you had expected it. Yunho had invited you in for a drink. You had insisted on pouring it out for him and he had complied, eager to please. You had quietly slipped the drug into his glass and passed it to him. From there on it had been a matter of waiting and coyly fending him off till sleep took over.

Im Yunho was currently lying on his sofa, sleeping like a baby. Once he had been taken care of, you had gone off to find the security tablet that the higher commanding units always carried. Your guess had been right. Five years after the war and security had become lax. Yunho had the same access as Commander Song did for ease of operations and this was going to be used against him.

It took you a good twenty minutes of searching through the archives before you found files on the EXU. You contemplated copying everything onto a pen drive and taking that away. But that increased the risk of being caught. Instead, you could stay here for the night making your ‘encounter’ with Yunho seem more real and also retaining access to other files if they were related.

You settled on Yunho’s bed. The mattress creaked as you lay down and swiped through the files.

There were six members of the EXU detained here - Cha Hakyeon, Han Sanghyuk, Jung Taekwoon, Kim Wonshik, Lee Hongbin and Lee Jaehwan.

Cha Hakyeon was the leader of the the EXU - Unit 0524, coming into command at the death of the previous leader Seo Inguk. The resemblance was funny, but the details outline below weren’t. Colonel Seo had lost control of his powers and killed himself along with fifty others on the battlefield.

It had been a terrifying setback. News had come of losses of war suffered by the EXU. If the super soldiers couldn’t win the war, then did normal humans stand a chance? Seo Inguk’s death had shaken the forces. You remembered soldiers discussing this and how chances of victory had diminished.

Cha Hakyeon had rallied the unit, rising from the ashes like a phoenix. A series of seven surgical strikes followed by a fatal confrontation had ended the Great War. Following the peace negotiations, Cha Hakyeon had been awarded the highest military honors posthumously along with the other EXU members. 

You found the videos of sessions with other psychiatrists. You almost played the video, before changing your mind and deciding to read through transcripts instead for the sake of time.  
What had made those other psychiatrists quit? You couldn’t help but wonder as you browsed through the test. Military forms had too much redundant data in your opinion.

_“…Patient displays signs of schizophrenia…”_

You stopped. Schizophrenia? That was a completely unrelated disease from Dementia and PTSD. And easily identified and diagnosed. This couldn’t be right. You opened up other reports and skipped right to the summary. 

The results baffled you. Dementia. Neurocognitive disorder. Delirium. Infection due to exposure to highly toxic metals interfering with brain functions. No wonder the psychiatrists were confused. These were major mental illnesses with similar symptoms but very different causes.

Why would Commander Song call it PTSD then? You frowned. Was it really a mental illness?

You opened up the video for the last session from three months ago. The video had no sound. Which was strange considering how they had access to transcripts. Was this a military protocol you were unaware of?

The camera was positioned at one of the corners of the room. The door and the large dark glass wall was visible in the view. you knew the dark glass doubled as an observation center. This was a standard interrogation room design. Cha Hakyeon sat on one side of the table, sans the body suit this time. On the other end was a man dressed in a white lab coat. 

The man was talking but Hakyeon wasn’t interested by the looks of it. He looked lost, fiddling with a pen. it felt as if he was contemplating something and the pen held the answers but Hakyeon had no idea how to unlock it. You fast forwarded it to the end, where the man finally gave up and stood up. He left the room and Hakyeon turned to look at the man who had left. He turned to look at the camera before going back to the pen.

You sighed. The video had been of no use at all. The entire thirty six minutes were on mute and didn’t give anything…

Wait.

Thirty six??

Hadn’t the transcript been for forty two minutes?

You scrolled back to the files. Yes. The transcript had been for forty two minutes. You checked the transcripts for other videos. You also checked the starting and ending times in case the videos had started recording after the interviews had begun. But in all videos, the doctors had walked in after the recording had started.

These transcripts were fake. The videos had been muted to prevent anyone from cross verifying these facts. A shiver went down your spine. You had clearly stumbled upon something much deeper at play here. 

These were treacherous waters and you had to wade through them carefully.

-x-

“Are you okay, Doctor?” Yunho asked you as you stepped into the Commander’s office the following morning. You nodded, tight lipped and nervous about how much he remembered. 

“Oh good. I was worried. the Commander is expecting you ma’am” Yunho said, gesturing to the door.

"Wish me luck” you joked, covering up your nervousness. Today was the day of the first session and you could feel your stomach sinking as you walked to the office door.

“Have you ever met him?” you asked Yunho as your hand rested on the knob.

“Once” he replied hesitantly. “It was disconcerting.”

You didn’t ask anything else, observing Yunho as he looked away. He shuffled papers that were already in order and went about placing them in order again. The meeting had really rattled him if the trauma had still persisted. 

You knocked on the door. Keeping Commander Song waiting for long was unwise. You had no idea how to face him after everything you had learnt last night. But you weren’t supposed to know and you had to keep the pretence up for as long as necessary.

“Dr Y/L/N. I was just waiting for you. If you will, then we can talk on the way to the facility” Commander Song said, standing up. 

“Okay Commander” you agreed. You waited patiently as he picked up his files and tablet, before leading the way out.

“We have a special containment ward set up just for your sessions. Hakyeon is sedated to keep his powers under control but we do have to ensure the safety of other people on the facility” he explained. The entire unit was locked up in a makeshift mutant prison for the sake ‘safety’ but you refrained from commenting.

“I also understand if you have concerns given his… circumstances. But rest assured that Hakyeon is completely safe to interact with. The wards have monitor rooms from where we will be monitoring your sessions. Should we detect a sign of danger, we will immediately step in to handle the situation” the commander assured you.

“Are the sessions recorded?” you asked, feigning curiosity.

“All of the facility is monitored by CCTV footage that is stored in secure locations” he said. You could tell that it was a well rehearsed answer by the monotone of statement.

“It would be nice to have an audio recording at least. For analysis” you said wistfully.

“It would be confiscated the moment you stepped out of the room since it would be highly confidential” Commander Song said as the two of you stepped out of the building. The central blocks gave way to open barracks where the soldiers exercised. The pair of you were stopped a couple of times by soldiers saluting their superior before you reached the north eastern building. 

It was a small building with only two storeys above the ground. Brick and mortar walls on the outside to give it a normal appearance. You knew that the actual facility was underground. The basements were reinforced with materials to make a shock absorbent infrastructure.

You entered the lift, descending to the second basement floor. The adrenaline had made you hyper aware and you tapped your feet, starting to note every detail about the small elevator. It opened to a busy corridor with people milling about and Commander weaved through the crowd to get to a remote corridor with special access. You had a hunch that the containment room was probably at the end of it and you turned out to be right.

“Is there anything I should know before I walk into that room Commander?” you asked, uncapping the fountain pen to get the nib out. Any observation would be useful from this point on.

“I’d rather give you a chance at unprejudiced observation. I will be right behind that door if you need me” Commander Song said, gesturing to an adjacent door on the right.

You nodded. He paused, staring at you with an incomprehensible look before punching in the access code to the door. ‘4-5-6-1′ you noted mentally. No fingerprint scanners. Your thoughts immediately went back to Yunho’s behaviour earlier at Commander Song’s office. People weren’t likely to wander down to this corridor. 

The door opened, and you walked in. It was smaller than it had appeared to be in the recent videos. But the set up was the same. A table and two chairs on opposite sides, facing each other. The Newton’s cradle on the table was still there, swinging away. You held your breathe and cleared your throat. 

“Cha Hakyeon?”

The man being addressed gave no indication to having heard you call his name. He didn’t bother with acknowledgements, instead choosing to swing the cradle and put it back in motion.

He was dressed in a bodysuit but his limbs were free. Probably a result of whatever they had done to restrain his powers. his actions were sluggish as well, as if trying to focus but unable to because of bodily constraints.

You took a look at the camera on the top right corner of the opposite wall. You took in a deep breath, nodding to yourself before walking to the other chair. You sat down and cleared your throat again, hoping to catch his attention. 

Hakyeon didn’t respond. He stretched his hands and yawned but his eyes never strayed from the swinging metal balls. He rubbed his chin, amused at the prickly four o clock shadow of a stubble that was growing. He ran his finger across his jaw and pushed his bangs up. His hair was short and unkempt. It stayed up and didn’t fall back down on his forehead while he continued playing.

You stuck your hand out and the balls swerved before coming to a halt. Hakyeon looked up, glared at you in an accusatory manner.

“It would be faster to comply with the standard procedure Mr Cha? I would be out of your hair quicker” you said serenely, refusing to move your hand and let the toy move.

His glare intensified. He frowned in disapproval as if a parent was chiding an impudent child wordlessly. It unsettled you a little because you were the doctor and you were expected to be in charge of the situation here. But you could already feel it slipping out of your hands.

“Doctor… Y/L/N…” he said thoughtfully. 

“Yes?” you asked. breathing a little faster due to your quickened heartbeat. 

“Your name. You knew mine. It was only fair that I know yours” he said, licking his lips. 

“Fair enough. My name is Y/N Y/L/N” you acknowledged and introduced yourself. His lips curled up into a smirk.

“Tell me doctor, what will you ask that’s different from what they have already asked?” he asked, leaning back on his chair.

“The truth. I’d like to know what your version of the truth is” you told him. There was a game at play here and you were willing to play it as long as it got you results.

“The first step to tackling a problem is admitting you have it” he said, parodying advert narrators. “I’ve read that in fortune cookies and on cereal box bottoms. You should try again, Doc.”

“I don’t believe there is anything wrong with you. You haven’t displayed any symptoms of PTSD ever since I have walked in” you challenged. He raised an eyebrow. He was intrigued and you took the hint to explain your stance.

“Your hands are steady. So is your breathing. All your triggers have been carefully removed from this environment to minimise exposure and hasten the recovery. If I didn’t know any better I’d think you were toying with me because you have no reason to suddenly become deranged” you reasoned. 

A sudden weight had settled in, holding your body in its place. You panicked. He was supposed to be powerless! Yet you knew this was his doing. You had walked into the game unprepared and now you were about to face the consequences of your actions.

“How ever did you know what my triggers are?” he sang, jumping onto the table. he slid, stopping right in front of you so that your frozen body. You heard the guards outside punching in the access code, tiny number keys beeping. Hakyeon waved his hand and blew the circuits in the lock. The fuse went out, sparking the digital lock and jamming it.

“My guess love, is that you have been naughty. They never let the previous psychs read my old reports. So what made you so special?” he asked, leaning in so that you were face to face with him.

“But given how stuck up Song is, I can tell that he didn’t even know you had read something. I like a good rebel. I’ll give you brownie points for that” he said, tracing your jawline with a finger. “And pretty too. You are a deadly combination love” he added as an afterthought.

“So what will your diagnosis be?” he asked, tilting your chin up to maintain eye contact as he moved out of your personal space. “Are you finally going to declare me criminally insane? That’s all we need to put Project Phoenix into action isn’t it?” he asked, looking at the camera with a sinister smile on his face.

“Well here is your proof” he said, jumping off the table and raising his hands up in mock surrender. You gasped as the force holding you down lifted and you could finally move. 

“Is that…” you wheezed, holding onto the table to breathe. “Is that... why you... lied... and... pretended to be... suffering mentally?... Just so... you could... die easily?” you asked, gulping for air between phrases.

“Oh don’t you know Doctor? The kind of things the Excelsis Unit saw and did would have taken lesser men down” Hakyeon mocked. 

“Then why?” you asked, gaining enough strength to stand and face him. The two of you stared each other down. the door blew open and Hakyeon pulled you down for cover. His hold on you was strong as he pushed you to the floor to shield you from the debris flying while he built a force field around the two of you. The glass and metal deflected and fell to the ground shattering as it did.

He was pulled away from you while Yunho helped you stand up. Commander Song followed the guards in, yelling at people to take Hakyeon under control.

“You see love, it doesn’t matter if I want to live or die. A soldier only serves his government dutifully” Hakyeon spat as three men held him and forced him down to the ground with his hands behind his back.

“Is that Project Phoenix?” you asked, remembering the argument earlier.

“Aren’t you smart, love” Hakyeon smiled as he was led away. 

“Doctor Y/L/N. I am afraid I will have to take you into custody for tampering of confidential records. Yunho, take her to the holding cells” Commander Song ordered.

“What is Project Phoenix?” you demanded, struggling against Yunho who was too strong for you.

“None of your business Doctor. As of this moment, you are off the case. You have been stripped of all access privileges and under investigation for charges of treason.”

-x-

You clutched your head. There was a ringing in your ears and your head was pounding. The headache was hard to bear but you found a way to push yourself to sit up. The floor was cold. Marble. Wet and grimy but marble, you noted. The dirt on your hands would have normally disgusted you but you were in too much pain to cause a fuss. 

You looked around. It was a small room, all white but dark and mouldy. There was a window but it was boarded up and you couldn’t tell if it was night or day. The lighting in the small room was dim but you could make out a small bed against the nearest wall and a commode in the opposite corner of the room. There was a table near your foot and you had been lying on the floor in the middle of the room.

What had happened?

You could only remember Hakyeon’s face while he was shielding you from the blast. 

Project Phoenix! They were going to kill him!

You started, standing up. The sudden movement cause you to lose your balance and fall back to the ground. You reached out the table but couldn’t hold onto anything for a grip. Something fell along with you with a loud “thunk”. 

“Hey! Keep it quiet in there!” the guard outside the doors yelled, banging on the door. You groaned in pain, curling up in a foetal position. The ringing in your ears was starting to fade but the headache persisted. The damp air wasn’t helping but you didn’t have the luxury of asking for an air freshener. 

You made one last effort to get up and lie down on the bed. You had a flat pillow but you had no strength to inflate it and decided to discard it altogether. You focused on getting your erratic breathing under control. You had to remain calm and take stock of the situation before deciding on a plan of action.

You were charged with treason and you had no way of proving your innocence. You didn’t even know if you would get the chance to. So your death was pretty much guaranteed. And so was Hakyeon’s. Given the way he had reacted, they were bound to pronounce him criminally insane and get rid of him.

It made sense now. All the falsified reports and the fake death reporting. Cha Hakyeon had been marked to die three years ago and now you were going to be dragged down with him.

The door opened, interrupting your thoughts. You sat up, wondering who it could be.

“Doctor?” Yunho called out. The guard who had opened the door let him through before facing him.

“You have five minutes. And you owe me a solid” the guard said gruffly before closing the door behind him.

“I brought you some food” Yunho said, taking a pouch out from his jacket and handing it over.

“What are you doing here?” you asked, accepting the small bundle. It was two muffins wrapped in a handkerchief. You felt grateful for the food but also wished you had some water as your throat was parched.

“I came to check on you” he said simply.

“Thank you” you said in a small voice. You felt ashamed for the way you had tricked him and taken advantage of his access privileges. He must surely have figured out your plan by now and yet he was here. The food in your mouth tasted like ash now and you decided to put the rest away, unable to stomach the act of kindness.

“About that night Y/N…” Yunho started uncomfortably. You stiffened as he sat next to you and put his hand on your shoulder. 

“You’re not the only one that Cha Hakyeon has mentally manipulated before” he confided. You looked at him, gaze softening at his hardened eyes. 

“It’s very easy to be charmed by him. Cha Hakyeon has a way with people. It doesn’t help that his powers include mind reading. He knows how to play on your weaknesses and use them against you” he explained. “It’s scary. Everyone on the base who knew he was here was always in awe of him. He was a war hero, you know? Saved a lot of good men. How do you look beyond that when you are in his presence?”

“The Excelsis Unit were super soldiers. Each soldier worth a hundred” you recalled from the propaganda years ago.

“Which is exactly why you should be very afraid if they go over to the wrong side” he concluded.

“You support killing the very people who saved us?” you asked in a quiet voice.

“Are they still the same people? Cha Hakyeon isn’t even the worst of the lot. Why do you want to save him? Because he is the hero on television who saved us all? He is barely a glimpse of that man doctor. I know because I have seen him fall over the years” Yunho told her.

“I can’t let you stay in here any longer mate” the guard at the door said, drawing your attention. You hadn’t even noticed the door opening.

Yunho nodded and stood up. “I expect Commander Song will come see you soon. It might be in your best interest to agree to his plan” he told you, before ducking out of the door. “Think about why you want to protect Cha Hakyeon and if old reasons still apply.”

Your jaw tightened and you nodded. You knew Yunho had your best interests at heart. But you also knew that Commander Song was intent on killing Hakyeon and you couldn’t condemn a man to his death without judging if he really was guilty or not for yourself.

“He’s right, you know” a voice said. You jumped, heart stuck in your throat and unable to scream when Hakyeon and another man materialised in your room. You came to your senses and tried to scream but no sound came out. 

“We don’t mean to cause you any harm love” Hakyeon said, holding his hand in act of pacifying you. but you were too frightened to listen. The other man, tall and broad but much paler than Hakyeon, stood by the door as lookout while Hakyeon approached you.

“The little nutcracker of a soldier was right. You do have to think about why you want to help me and your reason cannot be a flimsy excuse” Hakyeon warned. He touched a spot on your neck and you gasped for air, the gasp being audible after the agonising silence.

“What are you doing here?” you asked, scrambling to the other end.

“When you walked into that interrogation room, you asked me to tell you my version of the truth. I am ready to tell you my version of the truth but there will be no turning back once you take that step” he warned.

“You’re not bad people. You saved us in the Great War. You wouldn’t have done that if you were evil” you told him.

“But that was five years ago. How do you know I haven’t changed?” he asked, amused at your answer. “Don’t tell me that it is some lousy excuse like love. A damsel in distress who was charmed by the knight who rescued her. Only I was your knight miles away on the front lines. You are the best psychiatrist in the country Y/L/N. Surely you had been smarter.” 

You sighed, irritated at the patronising accusation. “I don’t have time play Joker to your Harley Quinn doctor. I need to know I can trust you and I need to know that fast” he prodded.

“Why are you here? What is Project Phoenix and why does the government want to kill you? If I am not wrong then I am guessing they want to kill the entire unit” you said, noticing how the other man at the door had twitched at the mention of the project.

“I suppose there is no hiding it from you when we are in this deep. Strange thing, curiosity. Always bad news for the cat, isn’t it Taekwoon?” Hakyeon laughed. The other man, Taekwoon, grunted in response. The exchange made you shiver and you rubbed your arms in an effort to get the rid of the goosebumps that had started to form.

“Well, we don’t have any time left. We need your help Doctor. And you and I both know that Commander Song isn’t interested in letting you live once this ordeal is over. I have an offer that would work to your advantage. You might even live to tell the tale” Hakyeon said, leaning in with a grin.

-x-

“Where are we going?” you asked, walking down the hallways. Hakyeon had promised you the truth but had not said a word after. Taekwoon had gotten the three of them out with his power of teleportation but if what Yunho had said was true then Commander Song would soon find her missing. They were working on limited time.

“You won’t believe the truth until you see it for yourself” Hakyeon said. His stern focused expression felt more uneasy than his easy going expression when he toyed with the people surrounding him.

“We’re here” Taekwoon said, standing in front of a heavy metal door.

“Get the others” Hakyeon instructed. Taekwoon nodded, disappearing in a flash and leaving you with Hakyeon.

“Brace yourself love” Hakyeon said sardonically. He waved his hand over the locks on the door and the metal crumbled upon itself. A shrill hissing was heard as smoke released before the door swung. The temperature dropped immediately and you felt like you were about to step into a meat locker.

“Commander Song was not in charge of the operation that brought the EXU unit to this facility. His predecessor was. The affair was messy, to say the least” Hakyeon said, leading the way in. The faint neon light and foggy atmosphere reduced your visibility so you focused on copying exactly what Hakyeon was doing to make sure you stepped into safe spaces.

“It didn’t take long for me to figure out what their plan was. I resisted and was detained. Most of my unit was brought in after me” Hakyeon told you. You heard a whoosh sound and you knew that it was Taekwoon apparating into the room. That must have been the rest of the EXU unit. You felt intimidated, scared of being the only human in the room without powers. 

“They took Jaehwan first and Sanghyuk second. Taekwoon tried protecting Wonshik and making a run for it but were caught. By then we had discovered what Project Phoenix was” Hakyeon told you.

“A plan to execute you legally” you said, putting your theory forward. Hakyeon nodded, impressed at your quick deduction.

“Yes but there were… concerns you see. One cannot simply execute a war hero or the saviour of an entire generation. Not to mention the human rights organizations and the veterans associations that would cause a public uproar” Hakyeon explained.

“So they decided to declare you criminally insane. The only excuse to detain you for life. But given your… extraordinary circumstances, it would be the safest to have you dead” you said, completing his implications.

“No evidence left behind” a man said, coming into view next to Hakyeon. He was of a larger build, though sickly and thin. Han Sanghyuk, the youngest with a power of earth control.

“Hongbin was the last to be brought in. That encounter was the messiest and it killed a good amount of military personnel” Taekwoon said, coming to stand on your other side. “But it came at a great cost.”

“What happened to Hongbin?” you asked, looking at the men.

“Hongbin had the power of ice. He lost control, unleashing a blizzard and freezing everyone in the blast radius to death” the fourth person in the room explained. Lee Jaehwan, you recalled, remembering his distinctive facial features. He had his hand on something and a closer look made your stomach drop.

“And was frozen himself” Jaehwan concluded, gesturing to the ice box. It was similar to the kind used to preserve dead bodies in. Lee Hongbin lay inside, looking like a zombie himself with his gaunt face and silver hair. 

“The room isn’t artificially conditioned. It’s Hongbin’s powers maintaining this temperature” Hakyeon explained.

There was another whoosh and Taekwoon came into the room. “Wonshik is in position” he said.

“We need to start moving. Sanghyuk, Jaehwan” Hakyeon said, gesturing to the box.

“On it” Sanghyuk confirmed. He used his telekinetic powers to lift the box and Jaehwan made all three of them invisible. Taekwoon gestured and the two of them moved out of the room.

“Wait. Why bring me here and tell me all these things? What do you want from me?” you asked, looking at Hakyeon directly.

“You’re a psychiatrist. The first psychiatrist to diagnose any of us” Hakyeon told you. “They sent many psychologists. No psychiatrists.”

“You’re looking for medical expertise of a different kind if you want to treat Hongbin” you warned. Psychiatrists did have license to prescribe medicines but mutant biology required a different kind of expertise.

“Not treatment but an initial diagnosis. We need to know _if_ he can be saved before how” Taekwoon spoke. 

“I am not qualified to give that diagnosis” you said.

“You don’t have a choice love” Hakyeon said, his face becoming darker as he loomed over you. Over head, an alarm began to blare all across the facility. Your escape had been discovered and the guards had been alerted.

“I’m dead either way. You can’t intimidate me. I am telling you this for the sake of your teammate. You need someone who is an expert in mutant biology and functioning” you countered.

“Would you like us to hasten the process?” Hakyeon asked, raising his hand. One snap would be all it took for your life to be choked out of you.

“If she isn’t of use then we can kill her” Taekwoon said, confirming your thoughts. Your brain ran at a speed of million thoughts, the adrenaline rush kicking in. Hakyeon nodded but you cried out before he could deliver a blow.

“Wait!” 

Hakyeon raised an eyebrow at you.

“Hakyeon, we need to move now” Taekwoon said, listening to footsteps filling into the hallway.

“I might know someone who can help you. I can lead you to them” you bargained. You had a friend, someone who was an expert. Not legally but maybe it was better that way.

“If this is a ploy to buy time or to get us caught and dragged back then I will personally ensure that you die the most painful death” Hakyeon said, pulling your head back by your hair.

“Good thing this isn’t then” you breathed out, looking him in the eye. He let go of you before looking at Taekwoon. 

“She comes with us.”

-x-


End file.
